This invention relates generally to ladder access shields and, more particularly, to a ladder shield for use with a stepladder for blocking access to the uppermost steps thereof.
Ladders are an attractive nuisance to children who often attempt to climb them without the aid, assistance, or knowledge of an adult. This often results in injury. Accidents, however, also occur when adults incorrectly use a ladder. Users of stepladders frequently attempt to stand on the top step or the next highest step even when warning labels counsel against such usage. Users even climb up and stand on the support struts which extend between the secondary support legs of a stepladder. It can be appreciated that such usage frequently results in injury when a person loses his balance and falls from or with the stepladder.
Many ladder shielding devices have been proposed in the prior art. Although assumably effective for their intended purposes, existing devices do not adequately address the problem of a user standing on the top step or next highest step of a stepladder. More particularly, existing devices do not block the top step and next adjacent step of a stepladder from access by a user.
Therefore, it is desirable to have a ladder shield which completely blocks access to the top step and next highest step of a step ladder. Further, it is desirable to have a ladder shield which blocks access to the uppermost support strut of a stepladder.
A ladder shield according to the present invention is constructed for use with a conventional stepladder having a first pair of support legs with a plurality of steps disposed therebetween and a second pair of support legs having a plurality of support struts therebetween. The ladder shield includes a first plate having a rectangular configuration suitable to lie flat upon the top step of a conventional stepladder. The ladder shield further includes a second plate having a rectangular configuration that integrally depends from a front edge of the first plate. The second plate extends downwardly from the first plate at an obtuse angle that is substantially similar to the angle defined between the top step and first pair of support legs of a conventional stepladder. Therefore, the first and second plates may be mounted flush against the top step and the first pair of support legs of a stepladder. The second plate includes length and width dimensions sufficient to completely block access to the step adjacent the top step of the stepladder as well as the space between those steps. The second plate includes a pair of brackets for removably fastening the second plate to the step adjacent the top step.
The ladder shield may also include a third plate that is hingedly coupled to a rear edge of the first plate. The third plate includes a pair of clips for removably fastening the third plate to the uppermost support strut extending between the second pair of legs. One of the clips defines an aperture for receiving a padlock such that the ladder shield may be lockingly coupled to the stepladder. With both the second and third plates fastened to the stepladder, the shield can only be removed by first unlocking and unfastening the third plate, pivoting the third plate outwardly from the ladder, and then unfastening the second plate from the step.
Therefore, a general object of this invention is to provide a ladder shield which blocks access to the top step and the next adjacent step of a stepladder.
Another object of this invention is to provide a ladder shield, as aforesaid, which is simple and economical to construct and is easy to mount to and remove from a stepladder.
Still another object of this invention is to provide a ladder shield, as aforesaid, that is collapsible and portable.
A further object of this invention is to provide a ladder shield, as aforesaid, which may be locked to a stepladder in a mounted configuration.
Other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein is set forth by way of illustration and example, embodiments of this invention.